2010 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 Black Leather Like New on 2040-cars

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VW spending $10 million on EV infrastructure, calls on Congress for help

It must be the season of big EV infrastructure announcements. In the last few days, we've heard from Bollore in France, PG&E in California and now VW. The German automaker says it will spend a total of $10 million on electric vehicle charging infrastructure by 2016. That includes the previously announced ChargePoint investment VW made with BMW and work the automaker is doing to get chargers for cars like the e-Golf installed as its dealerships. But Jorg Sommer, Volkswagen of America'sl VP of product marketing and strategy, said today in Washington, DC that automakers need help from the federal, state and local governments to turn electric mobility into a thing. Speaking at the 2015 Electric Drive Congress, Sommer said VW would like the Feds to support fast charging networks in urban areas as well as interstate corridors and that governments should "commit to cleaner fleets by purchasing EVs and PHEVs. This should be a US Government priority," he said. He also suggested that the plug-in vehicle multiplier credits under the EPA's greenhouse gas regulations should be extended beyond the 2021 model year. VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA TO INVEST $10 MILLION IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE BY 2016 Feb 10, 2015 Washington, D.C., February 10, 2015 – Jorg Sommer, vice president, product marketing and strategy, Volkswagen of America, today presented Volkswagen's holistic approach to e-mobility surrounding the launch of the zero-tailpipe emissions 2015 e-Golf, including a $10 million commitment to support electric vehicle infrastructure by 2016. During a presentation delivered at the 2015 Electric Drive Congress in Washington D.C., Sommer stated that Volkswagen believes continued legislative support is needed to reach the next level of electric vehicle adoption. "Automakers have effectively delivered electric vehicles that can satisfy the needs of most American drivers," said Sommer. "In addition to the investment we and other companies and industries are making, we would like to see Federal financing support for establishing fast charging networks in urban areas and interstate corridors. We'd like to see more state and federal organizations commit to cleaner fleets by purchasing EVs and PHEVs. This should be a U.S. Government priority, and federal purchasing guidelines should reflect that by giving fleet purchasers the flexibility they need," Sommer said.

Volkswagen names Piech's nieces to supervisory board

Volkswagen was left with two vacancies on its supervisory board after Ferdinand Piech and his wife Ursula were forced out a few days ago, and now it's filled them. Intriguingly, however, both of the new directors are Piech's nieces. The most obvious connection is Julia Kuhn-Piech, a real-estate professional who has sat on the board of VW's Man truck subsidiary since last year. Kuhn-Piech, 34, is the daughter of Ferdinand's younger brother Hans-Michel Piech (and by extension, niece of the ousted chairman). The other seat is being filled by Dr. Louise Kiesling, 57, a designer and daughter of Ferdinand's late older sister Louise Daxer-Piech. Keeping track of the lineage of the Porsche-Piech clan can be confusing, particularly with so many Ferdinands and Louises, but it breaks down essentially as follows: All are descended from Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the eponymous automaker and credited as the designer of the original Volkswagen Beetle. Porsche had a son and a daughter, the latter being Louise Porsche, who married Anton Piech and had four children: Ernst, Louise (mother of incoming board member Louise Kiesling), Ferdinand (the ousted chairman) and Hans Michel, father of the other incoming board member Julia Kuhn-Piech and a board member of both the Volkswagen Group and Porsche SE as well. The Piech and Porsche families control Porsche SE, which holds 50.7 percent of shares in the Volkswagen Group, which in turn owns Porsche the automaker. With all that in mind, appointing other members of the Piech-Porsche clan to the board follows logically enough - particularly since other members of the family helped oust Ferdinand from the chairmanship in the first place. The nominations, incidentally, also help VW increase its proportion of female board members. The two incoming Piechs will join Annika Falkengren of Swedish bank SEB and Babette Frohlich of the same IG Metall union as the board's interim chairman Berthold Huber. Wolfsburg, 30 April 2015 Dr. Louise Kiesling and Ms. Julia Kuhn-Piech appointed new members of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG Upon application by the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Louise Kiesling and Ms. Julia Kuhn-Piech were today appointed members of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG by Braunschweig Local Court with immediate effect. The appointments were made pursuant to Section 104 of the Aktiengesetz (German Stock Corporation Act) and were occasioned by the recent resignations of Prof. Ferdinand K.

2015 Volkswagen GTI: Introduction [w/video]

If you've ever met me, listened to me on the podcast, or come to know me through my writing during the last five years at Autoblog, the following phrase should not surprise you: I freaking love the Volkswagen GTI. I've long said that the GTI is the perfect daily driver for the everyday enthusiast – a car that offers as much practicality as it does performance, served up in a semi-premium, attractive package. I've preached the GTI's story to anyone who would listen, and I've managed to convince several people to actually go out and buy one (those folks later telling me they're super happy with their cars, by the way). As for this new, seventh-generation GTI, I'll offer a little backstory. In 2013, Volkswagen flew me to Germany to attend the Frankfurt Motor Show, where I also got to drive a number of the company's products, including the CrossBlue crossover concept. While waiting for my turn to pilot the CrossBlue in an airport hangar, one of the German PR folks directed my attention to a white, four-door GTI sitting outside, and said I was free to have my way with it for, oh, 20 minutes... on an empty runway... in the rain. This was my first experience with the new GTI, in a fairly loaded spec, with all the performance goodies. Needless to say, I loved it. But my other big belief about the GTI is that this car is truly perfect in its base form. The sixth-generation car was a blast without any dynamic controls or performance whats-its, and while those things certainly help make this new hot Golf a more enthusiastic package than ever, in my eyes, they aren't completely necessary. That's why, when it came time to order a long-term car, I took control of the options. The end result is the carbon steel gray GTI you see here, in four-door S (base) spec, with a six-speed manual transmission. Yes, I did outfit our car with the only two options available to S shoppers (aside from the $1,495 performance pack) – the $995 lighting package and $695 driver assistance pack – but other than that, it's a no-nonsense hot hatch. No sunroof. No leather. No fully power-adjustable seats. No navigation. No dual-zone climate control. No automatic headlights. No upgraded audio. The bottom line is that our long-term GTI comes in with an as-tested price of $27,895, including the $820 destination charge. That's right: a $28,000 GTI. What our car does have is everything you'd want in a GTI.